Fortified
by Prism0467
Summary: Set in the Kindred AU.  The dark legacy of the Hyuuga clan, through the eyes of the Hyuuga Twins. One-shot. Rated M for mature themes.  Hizashi Hiashi OC gen AU


**A/N:** This genfic was inspired by this: gallery/7935074#/d1z4xc7, which was created by the ultra-talented **Kyuubi1010** of **deviantART** (you know you love her fan art!), who, as it happens, is also the beta.

It is set in the _Kindred_ AU and is a brief but telling peek into the early lives of the Hyuuga Twins, who are 19 years old here; consequently, this actually precedes _Kindred_ in the timeline. You have to have at least read chapter 9 of _Constructive Possession_, the sequel to _Kindred_, to get the full gist of what is written here.

If you have been with me since _Kindred_, then I thank God for you.

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><p><strong>Warning<strong>: angst; hurt/comfort; implied exhibitionism; implied het; implied voyeurism; OC

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><p><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: Lady Taron, the bottle-blond, the aged voyeur and this AU are mine. The Hyuuga Twins belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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><p>The vision of a resplendent sunrise greeted Hizashi Hyuuga through a large window as he opened the door to his suite. He lowered his head as he stepped inside the large, luxurious bedroom and closed the door behind him.<p>

He was feeling anything but worthy of the sun's magnificence.

It was always like this after one of his 'appointments'. Each one left him a little more withered and weary than the last.

Hizashi rounded the corner, his mind drifting toward thoughts of a hot shower and meditative absolution when he spotted a lone figure lying on his bed.

He smirked at the sight of his twin brother's long, dark hair fanned out against the pillows and the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest as he slept.

_He looks like an angel_, Hizashi thought to himself, his smirk fading.

He lumbered on to his bathroom and turned on the light. The door closed on the image of dark hair falling loosely between slumped shoulders with a gentle click.

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><p>After his shower, Hizashi stood naked in front of the large three-way mirror in his suite, inspecting his body. He along with his brother were parts of an elite Hyuuga power campaign that had spanned centuries: young, twin embodiments of mystical beauty and privileged decorum that rendered others helpless to want them, or want to be them. As such, their elders insisted that their skin remain smooth and unblemished, like priceless porcelain, and were unforgiving of the young men when some acquaintance, provided access to them by the elders themselves, got too zealous. It was a harsh, dual-edged sword, as the twins were discouraged from objecting to anything during their appointments.<p>

"I don't see anything", a deep, calm voice from behind him commented.

Hizashi made eye contact with his brother in the mirror before turning to him. The other lay on his stomach, a bed sheet covering his otherwise naked form from the waist down.

It was almost like looking into the mirror again.

"You sure?" he asked Hiashi, furrowing his brows. "Lady Taron was like a cat with her nails all night." Memories his mind could not suppress assailed him: the burning, choking scent of obscenely expensive perfume; cold, thin fingers punctuated with blunt, red nails; bottle-blond hair and freckled skin over fake, oddly-shaped breasts; grandiose affectation of carnal fulfillment; a wrinkled, silent, 79-year-old audience of one.

He ignored the shiver that washed over him as he turned back to the mirror and resumed his inspection.

"Well if she left any scratches, they've faded. Other than the blush from the shower, I don't see a mark anywhere."

Hizashi was genuinely relieved at hearing that. He knew their pale skin would reveal even the tiniest imperfection.

"Do you think she caught on?" Hiashi asked, shifting to lie on one side and propping his head on his hand.

Hizashi stiffened at the question before shaking his head. "I don't think it would have made a difference if she _had _known. She wanted a taste, and she got one." He lowered his head and turned away once more.

A long, pregnant silence followed. Thoughts of the lessons they'd learned, of the things they had done and with whom, of the way it was killing off the most valuable parts of each of them, of their parents before them, of the inescapable fate of being Hyuuga – _those _were the elephants in the room, the things that dared not be acknowledged, lest one or both of them get an inspiration to defy it all. Hiashi's eyes revealed everything as he watched his naked mirror image hang his head in guilt, humiliation, revulsion, resignation - and sorrow.

"I could have gone", he offered.

Hizashi sighed. "The advantage of being twins is that only one of us has to endure most of these appointments."

"And _that_ one of us should be me. _I _am the elder."

Hizashi smirked and raised his head to look over his shoulder at his brother. "By two minutes", he clarified. He turned, walked slowly toward the bed and stood. He stared at Hiashi Hyuuga and saw not just his elder brother, but his only real friend; his confidante; their mother; their father; and perhaps - in those lavender eyes pooling with inexpressible emotion – a monument of hope, the salvation of Hyuuga. "So beautiful", he stated with a shallow shake of his head. "There is still so much fire in you, Hiashi. I won't let them snuff it out."

"The way they are snuffing out yours?" Hiashi asked and reached out a hand for his sad, tired brother, who chose - in a world where there were no choices - to bear the darkest of their burdens himself. Hiashi didn't know what he would do without him, and didn't want to imagine an existence where they weren't being fortified by each other.

Hizashi slid into the bed and his brother's waiting caress, closing his eyes and sighing while the other ran a warm hand over his bare skin, into his scalp and through his hair. While Hiashi was certainly checking for surprises that may have been missed – as was their routine - Hizashi understood that it was also his brother's way of reassuring himself that, in a reality that threatened to break them both he was still there, in the flesh.

Still fighting.

"I do what has to be done", Hizashi whispered.

"I know", Hiashi whispered back.

The brothers lay on their backs next to one another, shoulders touching, and closed their eyes. Hiashi would need to report on the evening's events to the elders later, but for now, they would shut out the world and embrace the quiet where only they two existed: not as beautiful pawns of Hyuuga, but as two young men working together to maintain their desperate grasp on a humanity that still existed in their hearts.

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><p><strong>AN:** I felt comfortable exploring something dark and angsty, which is mostly a departure for me. Who knows? It may become a trend.

I hope you enjoyed reading this.


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